BEIJING - Olympic table tennis star Fan Zhendong said on Dec 29 that he had never been "officially informed" that he would be fined for not competing on the world tour, despite officials saying the rules were "consistent, not new".
The 27-year-old, who took the men's singles title in Paris in August, announced on Dec 27 he was quitting the World Table Tennis (WTT) World Tour, saying he could not "afford" to pay fines under new participation rules.
Compatriot Chen Meng, the women's singles champion in Tokyo and Paris, also said she would pull out of the circuit.
But the WTT said that the rules were "consistent, not new".
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